'The Best Little Whorehouse' comes to B'way

Mark Kennedy AP Drama Writer

Posted:
08/07/2014 03:00:44 PM CDT

Click photo to enlarge

FILE - This March 27, 2011 file photo shows Rob Ashford at the opening night after party for "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" in New York. Producers said Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, that Ashford will direct and choreograph the revival of ?The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas? on Broadway. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — A revival of the sex romp "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" is packing its bags and heading to Broadway, this time led by Rob Ashford.

Producers said Thursday that the musical about the good times and demise of the Chicken Ranch brothel will return in 2015 and be produced by Jerry Frankel and Jeffrey Richards. No dates or theater were announced.

Ashford, who helmed Kenneth Branagh's "Macbeth," as well as the latest revivals of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," and "Promises, Promises," will direct and choreograph.

The show is based on a Playboy magazine article in 1974 by Larry L. King about a campaign to close down a popular bordello.

Peter Masterson, a Texas actor, saw the article and thought it would make a great play. He and King got together with songwriter Carol Hall, another Texan, to create the smash musical. Tommy Tune was the director and in charge of musical staging.

The show started off-Broadway in 1978 and a few months later jumped to the Great White Way, where it played 1,584 performances. A movie version starred Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds.

A sequel of sorts called "The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public" opened on Broadway in 1994 but closed after just 16 performances.